Meeting of Phantasmagoria and Katoba
Chapawee was lost. She had only wanted to leave the confines of the settlement for a few hours, but the unfamiliar terrain to the south had gotten the better of her. The open grasslands had long since given way to scrublands, and then to bushes so tall and strong that they towered above her and blotted out the sun. She felt trapped, hemmed in by her surroundings. She had never been separated from the sky before, and the canopy overhead felt like a heavy shroud, smothering her. The day had been sweltering in the summer heat, and her dress still clung to her body, but the night was far worse. The air hung like a cloud around her, humid and laden with the scent of decay. At seventeen years of age the dark held no fear for her, but there was something different this time, an unnatural presence that made her skin crawl. If she stopped to rest for more than a minute or so, she would start to see the eyes again. They were present and intangible at the same time; if she looked directly at them they would fade away, but then others would become visible at the edges of her vision. Some were red, some blue, some green or purple, but they all sparked with the same uncanny intensity. At first, there would always be just one or two, smoldering through the brume of darkness, but then several more pairs would appear and then dozens more around those, and then Chapawee would take off into the woods again before the many-colored eyes could surround her. On and on it went, and deeper and deeper into the forest she retreated until her legs were crisscrossed with scratches and her eyes stung with tears. At last, she could run no more. Her shaking legs refused to support her, and she collapsed onto the forest floor. Her whole world seemed to be spinning; the eyes were circling around her. “Show yourself!” She sobbed. “Kill me, I don’t care. Just make it stop.” Hypnosomnus had watched the girl with curiosity for a while now. She did not act like the local villagers who tread less than a mile into his domain before yelling about spooks and running away. Yet she did not act brave like the those people he remembered long ago who confidently travelled through with determination. Though now that she was on the ground weeping, he was not sure how he should react. He was not aware he had directly been frightening her. He tries to speak, but fails to find a mouth to communicate his words. He tries again and again, and then finally... "Hello young one." Chapawee recoiled in panic, scrambling up and spinning around to find the speaker. The voice had felt very close, as if right behind her, yet the space around her was completely empty. She scanned the forest, not sure whether she wanted to have imagined the voice or not. Then she saw, between the trees ahead of her, a glowing figure - an elk, gazing directly at her. At the sight of the animal- a real, tangible creature, even a magical one- Chapawee began to breathe more steadily. It reminded here of sitting out on the sunlit steppes as a girl while her mother combed her hair. Before the sickness took her, her mother would love tell her stories about the Great Spirits, who would often come to the Katoba in the form of animals. Looking the beast in the eyes, she took a tentative step forward, wincing as she realized the extent of her injuries for the first time. "Hello," she whispered. "Are you a god?" Hypnosomus pondered this question for a moment. Was he a god? He did not think so. He would probably know if he was one, correct? He had never met a god, so it was hard to tell what one was. Would it be false to claim godhood? He did have tremendous power over this land after all. Though what if he was not a real god? And what if someone discovered this? He needed more time to think, to learn about the world. Then the solution became clear. This girl only sees the avatar he presents. He need not claim himself to be a god just yet. "Yes," he finally responds, "I am." The elk bathed in light remains still as it speaks to her, its words heard within her mind, not with her ears. "Are you a nature god?" she whispered excitedly? Another pause passed as Hypnosomus debated the best answer. Then the voice replied, "Yes. This forest and the plains around it are all my domain." "I am sorry to have disturbed you," she replies. "My people are new to these lands, and we did not know you were here. We wish your forest no harm." "I am not adverse to visitors. Though you must be brave to have journeyed this far into my land on your own," his voice reverberates in her mind. "Do you search for something, young one?" "I don't think so..." she murmurs. "All I wanted was to get away from the settlement for a while. It's always the same there... the men go out hunting all day, and the women thatch roofs and plant maize. There never seems to be enough food to go around... we never seem to have time to dance like we did back home." For a moment, loneliness envelopes her as she thought back to her childhood again. Things had been much simpler, then. "It's hard to make friends out on the frontier." The elk's eyes gleam with an idea. "I have food aplenty within my domain. Alas, I am confined by the land I rule. If you come to show me your dances, I would willingly share this food with you. And then the forest and I shall dance with you too." Hypnosomus reveled in the idea of being able to study humans more - to have their company and perfect his Morpheons at the same time. It was a dream come true. Chapawee smiles. "That is very kind of you. I know my people would happily accept. I... I should go back now, if you will show me the way. But I will come back whenever I can." A number of sprites happily walk with her, showing her the way out of the forest towards her village again. Category:Nationbuilder VII Trade Meetings